Late Jurassic—Early Cretaceous strike-slip deformation in the Nordenskjöld Formation of Graham Land

Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous anoxic mudstones and air-fall ashes of the Nordenskjöld Formation are exposed on the eastern coast of Graham Land. Deformation of the strata has a long history spanning dewatering and lithification and was probably produced in a strike-slip tectonic regime. Available evidence suggests the onset of deformation in the region was during Tithonian times. The strike-slip deformation provides further evidence of a plate boundary along the eastern margin of the peninsula during the break-up of Gondwana and the movement of the crustal blocks of West Antarctica. It may also be related to a change in the spreading history of the Weddell Sea region and be the cause of a major facies change from fine anoxic to coarse clastic sedimentation.

Publication Details

  • Type

    Journal Article

  • Title

    Late Jurassic—Early Cretaceous strike-slip deformation in the Nordenskjöld Formation of Graham Land

  • Year

    1989

  • Author(s)

    Whitham, A.G. and Storey, B.C.

  • Journal

    Antarctic Science

  • Volume

    1

  • Issue

    3

  • Page(s)

    269-278

  • URL

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954102089000398

  • People

Charity and Education